Trending Now

You are here

Animal shelter suffers fire

A fire that razed one of the animal sheds at Colville Valley Animal Sanctuary last week has put the organization in a tenuous situation. Already limited facilities and inclement weather make it difficult to care for the animals housed at the Arden facility. The Nov. 16 fire took out the “puppy shed” that was the only heated facility at the sanctuary. It is suspected that the fire centered around the woodstove used to heat the building. Kennel Manager Nancy Rose said a dog and two cats could not be rescued from the burning structure. Colville Valley Animal Sanctuary, located off Old Arden Highway south of Colville, is a no-kill facility that cares for unwanted dogs and cats until they can be adopted. Prior to the fire, the facility was able to care for 50 to 100 animals at a time. Along with promoting local adoptions though their website,www.colvillevalleyanimalsanctuary.com, the shelter also takes cats to humane societies in Western Washington that facilitate adoption. “It (the fire) has really come at the worst time because our other buildings are not heated,” Rose explained. “So our elderly animals, in particular, need immediate temporary housing.” Rose is looking for foster homes for eight elderly dogs--one female and seven males. The dogs range in age from nine to 12-years-old and need warm places to spend the winter until they are adopted. Other than foster homes for the older dogs, Rose is also hoping that the community can help donate for materials to help replace the lost building. Rose said she has contractors willing to do the work necessary to provide the animals with a much-needed facility, but the insurance money for the shed won’t be enough to cover a new building. The sanctuary is a 501C3 and all donations are tax deductible. “The response from all over the state has been amazing, but we need to raise the funds to put up a safe building so this won’t happen again,” added Rose. CVAS is also accepting donations of animal food, five gallon buckets, blankets or other animal supplies via Davis Auto Rebuild that is providing a temporary storage area for the shelter. CVAS volunteers are also grateful to the nearby Arden Fire Department for their quick response to the fire scene. “We are so grateful to the Arden Fire Department for responding to this fire and for helping to save all the animals from that building that were outside in the runs,” said Rose. “But this loss has crippled our operation and we are looking for help.” For more information, visit www.colvillevalleyanimalsanctuary.com.